Sunderland will have to settle for just a single point this Christmas as they were left frustrated by a quiet Norwich side at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats failed to take advantage of almost a dozen decent chances but the sending off of Wes Brown at the end took away any chance of yet another stoppage time goal this season. Head Coach Gus Poyet decided to field the XI that ended the midweek Capital One Cup clash with Chelsea, which ultimately seen Sunderland proceed to the final four. Ki Sung-Yeung and Fabio Borini, who both scored after coming off the bench on Tuesday, came in for Adam Johnson and Craig Gardner. Phil Bardsley replaced Andrea Dossena at left back. There were no major talking points in the first half. Sunderland perhaps looked the most likely to score but any opportunity was left too late or taken too quick. The Canaries were denied a couple of times by Vito Mannone, who played as solid as ever between the sticks for Sunderland. With an hour on the clock, the Sunderland fans erupted to either encourage their side on or to get on their back following yet another missed chance, this time by Ondrej Celustka. This had worked in midweek, and it certainly spurred them on again this time. From then on, Sunderland constantly threatened Norwich's defence, but could not find the net again, something Poyet will no doubt look at on the training ground and next week when the transfer window opens. There were calls for a penalty moments before Brown's red card, but referee Martin Atkinson got that one spot on, despite harsh calls of "you're not fit to referee" from the Sunderland fans.
Joseph is a sports journalist, who has previously worked for Sky Sports News, Soccer Saturday, UEFA's coverage of the Champions League and Europa League and The London 2012 Olympic Games, as well as football clubs such as FC Halifax Town, Corby Town and Crystal Palace FC.
